Creative Ways to Decorate for a Halloween Party

Right now party outlets, craft stores, and discount retailers are full of cute and fun, spooky and scary, gruesome and gory decorations for Halloween. It’s a veritable witch’s brew of choices. But you don’t have to give-up an arm and leg to creatively decorate your home for a Halloween party. Besides, you need to keep your limbs intact for the impending Zombie Apocalypse!

How to Decorate for a Halloween Party

1. Decide on your theme

Will jack-o-lanterns or skeletons dominate your décor? How spooky or macabre do you want to be? Do you prefer vintage or modern? And with your theme in mind, decide how prolific your decorating will be. Are you a minimalist or do you want to drape your entire home in fake spider webs? Will you also decorate outdoors?

Vintage-style bats take flight across an autumnal front door wreath

2. Plan and shop for your decorations

Once you have a theme in mind, by all means put that into Pinterest’s search box and see what you find. But before you go crazy pinning every skeleton craft you see, spend time looking over the instructions and decide whether or not you’ll really make a dozen skeletons out of PVC pipe. You want your party prep to be fun, not tedious.

“Shop” your home first. Do you have any of the materials lurking in closets, the garage, or laundry room? Are there any substitutions you can make? Can anything be transformed or updated with a few tweaks? Also, ask around. Do friends, relatives, or neighbors have something you can borrow?

Witch hat from an old costume makes a great centerpiece

Retail store shopping tips:

The well known craft retailers already have a lot of their Halloween merchandise on sale and they often provide coupons online or in weekly mailers.

“Dollar” stores are cheap but it adds up quickly; try not to be tempted to pick-up items not on your list.

Party stores are best for picking up disposable items like paper plates, cups, plastic utensils, and napkins.

Plan on one or two higher ticket item purchases. Chances are, you’re going to come across something you cannot live without. If it’s an item you know you can use again and again (bonus if it can be used for other holidays), don’t feel guilty for splurging.

Make a list of what needs to be done before your party and then put it into a timeline or schedule. (You don’t want to be up until three in morning the night before your party carving pumpkins and cutting out paper bats.)

If you have a several items that you’re crafting, allow enough time for mistakes and do-overs.